Return To Sport

By Cameron Allshorn

Gyms are open, boot camp is back, trails and national parks are opening their gates, community sport is on the horizon and we’re all excited!!

The lockdown has impacted each and everyone of us and we are all ready to get out a back into our hobbies and activities as soon as we can. 

With the excitement of this return comes an increased risk of injury due to the lengthy lay-off period and overall decrease in movement and activity over the past 8 weeks, add to that the cold Hobart winter days and there is a discussion to be had. This blog to outline how to safely return to activity and reduce the risk of picking up a pesky injury that could see you with another stint on the sideline just as things get going again.

The Risk

Injuries to soft tissues are the most likely to occur in this type of situation due to shortening of muscle fibers during inactivity as well as lack of load exposure. “Soft tissue injuries” cover most muscular or ligamentous injuries, in which hamstring, calf, quad and rotator cuff have the highest increased risk of injury. 

A recent ABC article has outlined the increased risk and rate of incident we have seen as sport has returned across various professional leagues.It is expected that this will spread all the way down to community level as the majority of us return without the network of a professional grade support team. 

A lot of us have turned to running and/or cycling over the past 2 months in an effort to keep active and fit which is great for our wellbeing and aerobic fitness however it does not replicate or correlate to sport specific actions such as landing, pivoting, throwing, kicking and so on. Now is the time to get back into sport specific training situations.

4-6 weeks of graded gradual sport-specific return is recommended to reduce the risk of injuries upon return which means starting now is imperative. It is likely that competitions will be eager to reboot their seasons and with calendar restrictions and venue clashes also to consider it could see match-day competition return in a quick turnaround that will not account for such a training period to occur.  

Snapshot of Professional Returns

Bundesliga (German Premier Soccer League) returned on May 24 and has seen an approximate  rate of injury increase of 3 times the pre lockdown records (.27injuries per game pre lockdown, .88injuries per game since restart) injuries have predominantly been of soft tissue nature (hamstring, calf, quad). Locally we have seen the AFL and NRL return over the past month and while there hasn’t been large spate of injuries across the board. The restart began with a number of players unavailable due to similar soft tissue injuries sustained in a shortened “pre-season” prior to the return (predominantly lower limb soft tissue injuries).

Who’s at risk

• Age >25, 

• Previous injury history (particularly in past 18 months) 

• Returning to a sport involving a lot of change of direction, quick decelerating/accelerating or lateral movement (tennis, hockey, AFL, netball, basketball) 

What can you be doing now 

Each sport and venue is likely in the process of opening up training facilities and you should check with them about access and the guidelines in place. Some restrictions may be placed on access time and amount of people allowed.

To reduce risk, you should now be considering sport-specific programs that are tailored to the requirements of your sport. However some broad protocols to follow are; 

• Warm up/ cool down with stretches and mobility exercises. 

• Lower limb eccentric exercises (hamstrings, calf, hip flexors) (these help increase overall muscle length reducing risk of tearing) 

• Gradual increase of load, duration and intensity of training.

• Sorting out any existing niggles (tight hamstring, sore hip, stiff lower back etc) before jumping into training.  

For any information or advice regarding getting you back into playing sport and the activities you loved before covid-19, feel free to contact your Osteopath for what is best suited to you. 

Exercising and keeping active in COVID-19

By Tegan Hailey

Exercising and staying active has never been more important until now! For many of us our regular forms of exercise and staying active have either been completely or to some extent impacted by COVID-19! 

We are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with the possibility of COVID-19 restrictions easing soon! And as we begin to move forward, it is a great time to reflect on what type of activity is missing or needs improvement in our day to day activities. So ask yourself ... 

1. How were you staying active before? 

2. How or what have you needed to adapt at home? 

3. What type of activity is currently missing to continue to stay fit? 

Whilst everyone has been talking about what you CAN’T do during COVID-19, we thought it would be great to talk about what you CAN do to stay active! 

Whether you have been going for a daily walk, run or cycle, been involved in an online home yoga/pilates or fitness circuit or have recreated a sport such as hockey in your backyard! COVID-19 has shown us that there are many different ways to stay active, without expensive equipment and even from home! 

1. Aerobic Exercise (also known as cardio): 

Is a great way to stay fit and can be the easiest way to incorporate and maintain physical activity during this time. Some great examples of aerobic exercise include … 

• Walking

• Running

• Bike riding

• Dancing 

• Skipping (jump rope) 

• Active video games 

Minimum 30 minutes a day is a great way to get out of the house for some fresh air and to stretch your legs! 

2. Strength and Flexibility:

As many of us have had a decrease or cessation of the various forms of exercise we use throughout our day, there is no surprise that we would also be losing the strength we have built and maintained with these activities. It is still important that we focus on maintaining strength and flexibility throughout our week. Whether that be by … 

• Workout online: Amongst the endless amounts of free exercise videos available on YouTube,  various qualified fitness instructors have taken their classes online. From strength workouts to yoga,Pilates, and high intensity interval training (HIIT) etc. 

• Going freestyle: Build your own workout, if you don’t have access to weights, use household items like filled water bottles and cans or jars of food, do some star jumps, planks, sit ups, push ups, or burpees. Anything to get your heart rate up a little.

• Recreate a sport in your backyard or lounge room (be aware of breakable items!).

  • Tennis: Get  2 dining chairs apart with a sheet over it to recreate a net 

  • Sports such as Soccer, hockey, netball etc: use tinned food or small objects to create obstacles to perform various drills around 

  • Good old fashioned backyard cricket 

  • Can you play squash/ or hit a ball against a brick wall?

  • Kick to kick.

FINALLY DO NOT FORGET - Sedentary Lifestyle!

It is extremely easy at the moment to fall into a sedentary pattern! It is extremely important that  Australia’s Physical Activity Guidelines still apply even in social isolation. Whether you are still working/studying at the office or at home, it is important to monitor your screen time and period of time spent sitting. Remember to break it up and incorporate the above 2 points into your day to day activities. 

If you would like advice or alternative ways to stay active during these times, please feel free to consult with your osteopath! We also love to hear about the new and interesting ways people have come up with to stay active. Don’t forget to encourage your loved ones, who you’re no doubt spending a lot of time with right now, to move their bodies too!

Has Covid-19 Got You Working From Home?

Covid-19 has impacted us all and we need to do our part to flatten the curve and look out for those in the community (and the broader world). With the current landscape in constant change we have seen many businesses and organisations move off site and have their staff working from home.

If this is you, it may be all new. We want to make sure that everyone has the available information about how to work from home in a way that is efficient, effective and ergonomically sound. And if not, keep reading because it’s good information to have anyway.

Here are 6 tips to help!

We generally spend enough time on the couch as it is, no need to add in an extra 4-8 hours there while you’re working from home.

Sit.Stand.Sit.Stand. Keep changing it up and you will notice the positive impact this can have. When working from home this can be challenging if you don’t have the available equipment.

Some additional tips we think can help are; 

• If you’re using a laptop, take advantage of the portability and move between a desk, dining table and/or kitchen bench as these often have different heights

• While you’re at it change the type of seat you are using to one that suits the table type but is also comfortable for working. Chairs, stools, exercise balls are all great options. 

• Household items such as books, crates and containers can help raise your laptop and/or workspace if required.

The ergonomics of a laptop are poor for lengthy use and often have us leaning forward, in a slouched position with our arms tucked in.

• When sitting, sit evenly on the sit bones with both feet evenly on the ground, remember stools may prevent this.

• Rest your arms so the desk surface contacts just before the elbow.

• The middle of your screen should be at eye level or just slightly lower depending on its size. 

Wireless or corded (even airpods) are a great option for either a phone or computer set up. Without them you are all the more likely to end up using the neck to shoulder “hands free” method.

There is plenty that can be done at home, you can access our physitrack program via the app ‘PhysiApp’ using the access code hqkhdncv, DOB 2020.

Keeping a close to a normal routine can help the body adjust to the overall changes to the working environment.

• Even though the situation is constantly evolving, we recommend that you still enjoy the outdoors, get out into the backyard or go for a walk around your home suburb - just avoid touching surfaces or any large group interactions and practice good hand hygiene when returning home.

We hope this helps and remember that at Rockhopper we plan to be open and available as long as possible to continue to service the greater Hobart region through this time. We have implemented a range of measures to ensure that our clinic space stays safe and clean. Currently, we ask that you do not attend if you have done interstate or international travel in the past 14 days, or if you show any symptoms of a sore throat, cough, feelings of fever, difficulty breathing. If you do make an appointment we ask that you read the signs on our waitroom wall for current updates and please wash your hands in the sink to the left (near our nappy change table) on entry before your appointment.

Thanks From The Rockhopper Team :)

Tink, Cameron, Tegan & Alayne